This Hairstyle Has a Really Inappropriate-Sounding Name—Have You Heard It Before?

What do you call hair that's sculpted straight up in the very front, or pushed forward into a bulging wave?

Here are some visuals of this style—which has long been a popular one for guys, from Elvis to David Beckham, who wore this hairstyle to the Met Gala.

But women can totally rock this hairstyle too. Here it is on Lupita Nyong'o earlier this month.

So, what's the hairstyle name of which I speak? If you're saying "pompadour," you're technically correct. But a more specific, popular term for this tall-at-the-forehead hair is: quiff—NOT to be confused with a similar-sounding term referring to a bodily function, which we shall discuss no further here.

Somehow I had never come across the word quiff until it jumped out at me on a hairstylist's press release the other day. I Googled-Imaged and Twitter-searched it (#quiff), and it appears that, yes, this is a mainstream word that I was somehow oblivious to, despite having blogged about many a boy-band/Justin Bieber hair moment over the years. In fact, the Daily Mail even used quiff in a headline just the other day.

So there you have it:quiff. Next time you want to refer to one of those tall-forehead hairstyles, you can bust out this handy vocab word. Just be sure to pronounce it properly (qw-iff), please. Lest people think you're saying that other really inappropriate thing.

How many of you had heard this hairstyle term before? Am I alone in my obliviousness?